I don’t know what to call Extender…disturbingly great or greatly disturbing. In saying that, I know “disturbing” and all of its derivatives are commonly used negatively. However, in this case, negativity should be the last thing you associate Extender with because Extender isn’t about negativity. As a matter of fact, it’s more about self-examination…and, to be fair, the examination of others. I won’t pretend that I’m saying this especially because I saw the contributing music video. In other words, I probably would’ve thought Extender meant something different if I hadn’t watched it. Then again, it’s sometimes said that a song’s music video doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s what a song is about. But, that’s a different story.

Extender explains the idea of knowing someone not just on the outside, but also on the inside. Watching the video (I don’t know how many times), it’s evident that it mainly has to do with self-identity vs. how the world (can we just call it society?) sees you. Unfortunately, it can be pretty hard to live life the way people want you to live it, whether that’d be conforming into someone you’re not or forcing yourself to accept what society deems “acceptable”. Doing anything of the like to yourself, especially as it regards to conforming to someone you’re not, can be stressful, frustrating, and daunting. Constructive criticism is one thing, but changing yourself to please other people is something different. I should know because more than at least twice (maybe thrice), I found myself in that same position. Yes, apart from being a music fanatic, I’ve been the “weird one”, both in school and in college. Just off of being “me”, I’ve been told what is and what’s not “socially acceptable” so many times. For many people, feeling like there’s something wrong with them is not a foreign feeling…and that’s very unfortunate. Before hearing Extender, I always thought that society had the problem of forcing people to be a completely different person instead of allowing them to be themselves. I countlessly wondered why that was the case. After all, if society had two (or more) people acting the same way, we’d all be robots, which, in my opinion, is kind of boring. You can’t expect two people to act or be the same way because we’re all made differently…genetically differently, if you will. Truth be told, it’s about time an artist put composed a song that defies the rules of society. I wouldn’t even go so far as to call Extender controversial. However, I would call it bold…and though society may say differently, “bold” is always a good thing. Take it from me, the “bold, headstrong type”.

While Extender might not be a song that you’re used to hearing, it’s something that you might need to hear, especially if you’re one to think for yourself. It’s definitely something to hear if you’re not fond of allowing society to tell you how to be. Overall, it’s an excellent song to experience.